Disposition Summary

Approve the One Year Plan amendment to the MDR/O (Medium Density Residential/Office) land use classification because it is consistent with surrounding development.

---

Staff Recommendation

Approve the One Year Plan amendment to the MDR/O (Medium Density Residential/Office) land use classification because it is consistent with surrounding development.

---

PURSUANT TO THE CITY OF KNOXVILLE ONE YEAR PLAN, CHAPTER 1, PLAN AMENDMENT, ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA MUST BE MET FOR ALL ONE YEAR PLAN AMENDMENTS (may meet any of these):

A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT PATTERN, OR THE COMPLETION OF A PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT (ROAD, PARK, SEWER), WHICH CHANGES THE BASIS ON WHICH THE PLAN WAS DEVELOPED FOR AN AREA.
1. This section of Middlebrook Pike between Francis Road/Vanosdale Road and N Gallaher View Road contains a wide range of housing forms and residential intensities, ranging from single-family dwellings to townhouse and multi-family dwellings. Examples of more recent residential developments include the Kirkwood subdivision across Middlebrook Pike to the northwest, which added 79 townhouses with its completion in 2010. The Parkview Retirement Community, an apartment building with 116 beds, was constructed in 2018 and abuts the southern border of the subject property. South of that, the Moody Property single-family subdivision began construction in 2022.
2. There is a commercial node nearby to the northeast which has seen an increase in infill business development over the past 17 years. This includes the establishment of the Middlebrook Commons strip center in 2007 and the conversion of former residential properties to a retail store and urgent care clinic in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
3. The City is in the design phase of a capital project to install new fiber optic communications and various major traffic signal components on Middlebrook Pike. The intent is to improve the efficiency, safety and reliability of 24 existing signalized intersections. There is existing sidewalk infrastructure and transit access to nearby commercial amenities and community activity centers. These features, in combination with increased safety measures at intersections, supports consideration of more intensive residential development on the subject property.
4. The proposed One Year Plan amendment from the LDR (Low Density Residential) to the MDR/O (Medium Density Residential/Office) land use classification is compatible with changing conditions in the area. MDR/O continues a transition of land use intensity from single-family to multi-family residences to the south south and the major arterial of Middlebrook Pike to the north with a commercial node located 850 ft to the northeast.

AN ERROR IN THE PLAN:
1. The current LDR classification is not the result of an error or omission in the One Year Plan, but the MDR/O land use could have been considered here as a way to buffer less intensive residential uses from a major arterial street. This consideration is consistent with the adopted Middlebrook Pike Corridor Study adopted in 2000, which encourages the transition of 'old residential' properties fronting on the arterial street into office, multifamily or commercial uses.

A CHANGE IN PUBLIC POLICY, UNANTICIPATED BY THE PLAN:
1. There are no specific public policy changes that pertain to the proposed land use classification amendment.

NEW INFORMATION (INCLUDING NEW PLANS AND STUDIES PRODUCED BY KNOXVILLE-KNOX COUNTY PLANNING) BECOMING AVAILABLE, WHICH REVEALS THE NEED FOR A PLAN AMENDMENT:
1. There are no new studies or plans that address the need for a plan amendment on the subject property. As stated previously, the Middlebrook Pike Corridor Study adopted in 2000 supports reconsideration of the LDR classification along this major arterial street in favor of a more intensive land use like the MDR/O classification.